Finding the Perfect Dress
Claudia, a 17-year-old high school senior living in Nanaimo, Canada, a city and ferry port on the east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia was gearing up for the Prom, like many at her age. Whether you’re in Canada or the U.S. the Prom is a right of passage. The closing of one chapter and the beginning of the next.
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Shopping for and finding the gown of your dreams is part of the excitement of it all. Claudia was all set to attend John Barsby Secondary School’s Prom, but days before her big day she had her worst nightmare come true. It’s a fate that you wouldn’t wish on even your worst high school enemy.
It all started with a dress. Claudia struggled to find the perfect dress to make her stand out. It’s Prom, after all, you only get to experience it once during your senior year so having it go as planned was definitely on her senior year checklist.
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We all had that same list of sorts, the list of things we need to do or check off before we graduate. From the senior prank, grad night, the senior trip, to yearbook signing, and more, it’s things like Prom that are the icing on the cake.
Placing the Prom Dress En Route
With this in mind, Yaga wanted her dress to be perfect so she decided to save up all her money and work extra shifts at her jobs in order to be able to afford her custom dream dress all on her own.
Dress Order Invoice ; Source: CHEK News
She decided to order a special dress from no other place than where we all get most of our favorite items, China. The dress itself cost $800 or so, not to mention the extra shipping costs and the rush order to make sure she got it just in time.
Up until the last minute she wasn’t sure if she could make enough money to make her Prom a night Cinderella would approve of, but it only motivated her to work harder.
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Earning something that you really wanted through all your hard work makes getting it even better. She was set on taking matters into her own hands and making her Prom dreams a reality and she prevailed.
Porch Pick Up
Claudia could finally place her Prom dress order, and she hoped that her dream dress would arrive in time for her big day and exactly the way she envisioned it. As the days got closer to Prom she feared that her dress simply wouldn’t come.
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Three days before her Prom and to her relief, she got a text on her phone that her dress had finally arrived and was left on her front porch for pick-up.
You're Like Really Pretty
This was the dress Claudia had dreamt about for months and it was finally here and made to her measurements, but she never saw the dress in real life.
Source: Claudia Yaya / Facebook
The dress was beautiful and featured a mermaid silhouette in a timeless nude beige color. It was adorned with black lace appliques that were sure to stand the test of time years from now when looking back at Prom photos, but fate had other ideas.
The Pick-Up Point Does Not Exist
Barely 30 minutes went by since the package was left on Claudia’s front porch. To her surprise when she went to her porch as soon as she got home from school there was nothing there besides a half-opened gate. Imagine her confusion turned to shock and horror in a matter of seconds when she realized what had happened.
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Her dream Prom dress was almost literally snatched from right under her nose as it was just within her reach, stolen right off her porch. If only she had made it out to receive her package minutes before. Her story does not stop at her porch though. Little did Claudia know, she was about to get some more unexpected surprises.
Social Media Plea
Claudia first went to her neighbors to check if maybe someone had seen the package left out and wanted to prevent theft so they took it into their home. She also triple-checked with the delivery company.
Source: Claudia Yaya / Facebook
No luck on both ends and no one could locate the package or had seen who stole it. There was nothing left to do besides write a Facebook plea to help her find her dress. She refused to believe that Prom was ruined.
Her mother wasn’t able to go to Prom or graduate from high school because she moved from Africa so this milestone held great significance for Claudia and her mom. Her mom might be even more devastated than Claudia. Seeing your child heartbroken and miss out on an experience that you didn’t get to have is possibly even more painful.
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She is quoted as saying that they have gotten countless packages delivered to their home without a previous problem. Of all the packages that could have been taken, Claudia’s mom, Solange is sad that it had to be Claudia’s Prom dress. They both continued to hold out hope that it would be somehow returned.
Claudia had such a tough year at school this year and as a future Bachelor of Sciences major she wanted this event to simply be a fun and special night since she has a long road ahead. She is about to be defined as a “bookworm” for at least 8 long years, according to her, and she wanted one perfect night where she forgot about physics and calculus for the evening.
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She doesn’t want this setback to ruin her Prom or deter her from attending because she says she doesn’t want to look back 15 or 30 years from now and regret missing out on the experience. Claudia says that whether life gives you the best or the worst moment you should always make the best out of it. Great words to live by indeed, someone else thought so too.
An Unlikely Fairy Godmother
Claudia’s school and community saw her post and her story circulating online and thought of what they could do to help. Jim and Linda Jesson owners of a local fashion boutique saw what happened to Claudia and offered to give her a fairytale ending to her unfortunate story.
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They own Party Girl Fashion and had this year’s collection arrive in the store just in time. They hoped one of their dresses would fit Claudia and that she would take a liking to one of them enough that she would want to wear it to her Prom.
Party Girl Fashion a local fashion boutique helps young ladies find their perfect dress for countless occasions and prom is no exception. Linda and Jim take pride in helping to make special moments for their customers as memorable as they can.
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They believe that everyone should feel like Cinderella when their big moment arrives. That’s probably why they took Claudia’s story so personally and jumped into action to try and help.
A Little Blue Dress
And just like Cinderella having her glass slipper moment, it was a perfect fit. Claudia found the most beautiful blue gown at Party Girl Fashion to wear to her Prom, free of charge.
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The couple was so inspired by Claudia and her story that they ended up naming their Prom collection after her. Claudia was so grateful and told both Jim and Linda that, “She never thought someone in the world like them existed…” she couldn’t thank them enough.
Take Me For a Spin
They say, when you know, you know. As soon as Yaya saw this blue-teal dress that she described as gorgeous and flowy, in her mind she was already at Prom. She just knew that this was her dress.
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Her mind was made up and she was officially going to Prom. Both her and her mom were thrilled. She felt extremely lucky that things ended up working out and that her Prom could be saved in the nick of time.
An Instant Connection
Linda and Jim felt just as lucky to not only be able to save Claudia’s Prom and make this high schooler’s Prom dreams come true but also that they were able to meet such a lovely young lady that they wouldn’t have met otherwise. You never know who you will meet or why you meet them but both Jim and Linda were as inspired by Claudia as she was inspired by them.
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One act of kindness can go a long way and this is proof of that in its entirety. Not only did this change the whole course of Claudia’s potentially tragic prom but it also showed her that people can be selflessly kind. It also allowed her to find home and connection in the community around her which she previously felt somewhat isolated from.
A Home in An Unlikely Place
Claudia and her mom, like most immigrants who migrate from another country that’s extremely different than their own, feel out of place and struggle to connect to their new surroundings and community. Claudia and her mother only moved to Canada 5 years before Claudia’s Prom so struggling to find her way was something that may have contributed to her yearly challenges.
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But Claudia is a force to be reckoned with, never backing down and never giving up on the things that matter to her, like her Prom. This is the perfect example of how not giving up hope and doing everything to locate her stolen Prom dress ultimately paid off and brought her to meeting Linda and Jim.
Berry Bombshell Blue
Claudia’s Prom took a turn for the better, it looked like she was more than just out of the woods. Some would even go as far as to say that her Prom was even better than she could have originally imagined.
Source: Claudia Yaya / Facebook
What is Prom if your ride doesn’t match your dress even? Talk about setting the bar higher than expected, Jim picked her up personally in his matching Lamborghini. With this color palette that is too perfect for words, we may just need to change the phrase from lemons to blueberries. When life makes you blue, make yourself a very berry Prom to remember.
She eventually came to the conclusion that despite this horrible event of getting her dress stolen before her big day it brought her a new gift, not only a beautiful prom dress but also meeting and connecting with her community like Jim and Linda.
Source: Claudia Yaya / Facebook
Claudia said half-jokingly that if she met the dress thief she would probably buy him or her dinner and say thank you for connecting her to so many beautiful people.
Mother Daughter Smiles
It’s all smiles for Claudia and her mom. They both can now share a positive memory that they both feared that they would miss out on.
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Although this doesn’t bring back Claudia’s Mom’s Prom it does allow her to appreciate Claudia’s Prom in an introspective way. It’s almost a full-circle moment for both of them and Claudia gets her happy Prom ending to her high school years.
The Bell of the Ball
Linda of Party Girl Fashion said “We just feel really lucky that we were able to have a dress that fit her and she looked so stunning in.” Jim and Linda went above and beyond because they fell in love and were touched by how wonderful and appreciative Claudia was.
Source: Claudia Yaya / Facebook
From supplying the dress and the Cinderella Lamborghini carriage the teen truly felt like a princess. It is exactly how everyone should feel on their Prom night.
Claudia’s take on Prom after the fact? She says, “Prom was amazing … It was so much fun. I had the time of my life.” Now that Prom is behind her, the next milestone is starting University in biochemistry at the University of Northern B.C. She plans to go on to medical school after that.
Source: Claudia Yaya / Facebook
Talk about beauty and brains! Good on you, Claudia! She plans to then travel and volunteer in the health field making a difference in third-world countries and in Africa a place where she has seen up close the dangers and failures lack of healthcare can cause.
More at Home Than Ever
Claudia and her mom moved to Canada from Cameroon a few years ago and it has been just them two for a long time. But this stolen dress incident has opened them up to their community and showed them there is more to family than blood.
Getting her dress stolen may have been a blessing in disguise as she said that it showed her that she has a family that goes beyond her mom too. Her community has become her family also and she feels more at home now than before.
Not Just A Headline
Although this story became a hot headline as the girl whose Prom dress was stolen, for Claudia it was more than that. This incident became a journey of self-discovery, building memories, and connecting beyond the surface in the community.
Source: Claudia Yaya / Facebook
In a way, just like high school, it was a coming-of-age moment, a moment of growth and deep appreciation of who and what’s around us.
Where is Claudia After Prom?
Since Prom, you can find Claudia tackling new heights and challenges in her college years at the University of Northern British Columbia, already gearing up for a whole new type of graduation.
Source: Claudia Yaya / Facebook
She is also still as close as ever with her mom. According to Claudia, she continues to be the person who inspires her and guides her the most throughout these formative years of her life.
Working Girl
Still just as gorgeous in blue, Claudia is also beginning to venture into the workforce while being a student. It’s lovely to see her shining in blue just like she did in her memorable Prom dress.
Source: Claudia Yaya / Facebook
Seeing Claudia not give up despite setbacks is truly a reminder to not let the fear of striking out keep you from the things and experiences that are important to you.